Food left cooking on stove the source of fire station blaze

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) _ Officials say the fire that damaged a northwest Omaha fire station started after someone left food cooking on a stove.

The fire Sunday morning left the kitchen and the station’s living areas heavily damaged. A battalion chief caught a whiff of smoke at the station and found the kitchen ablaze. He called for help because most of the firefighters assigned there were out on a call.

Battalion Chief Scott Fitzpatrick said Monday that the firefighters who left for the emergency call thought the stove was turned off. Turns out it wasn’t, and the fire eventually broke out.

The department hopes to have firefighters back living and working in the station within four weeks. The repairs will include addition of a sprinkler and fire-suppression system over the stove.